ducation has always been a central concern for Austin residents, but that could be
because the city’s such an educated town. With scores of national accolades and strong
community support, Austin’s a win-win proposition for education.

Forbes has designated Austin as one of the U.S.’s biggest “brain magnet” cities – the result of the
magazine’s analysis of the 50 largest metropolitan areas and ranking them by gains in those with college
educations compared to the population over 25 years of age between 2007 and 2009. Austin was one
of the top cities with gains, scoring high marks all around.

CNN Money has named Austin sixth in its America’s Smartest Cities (2010) list, and Kiplinger’s Personal
Finance included UT Austin on its 2011 list as one of the “best values in public education.” And the Austin
Independent School District outperformed many of the nation’s schools in science, according to results of
the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – where Austin ISD fourth and eighth-graders did
better in science than other urban districts across the nation.